This plaster cast is taken from a marble bust of a woman by an unknown sculptor in Ravello, Southern Italy. Until 1973 the bust was on the parapet of a staircase leading up to the pulpit signed by Nicola di Bartolomeo da Foggia, dated 1272, in the Cathedral at Ravello. An inscription records that the pulpit was commissioned by a wealthy merchant of Ravello, Nicolo Rufolo and his wife, Sigligaita. The head is recorded on the pulpit from 1540, and it was thought at that time to represent the Virgin. More recently attempts have been made to identify this regal head with Sigligaita herself. There is, however, no secure evidence to confirm that the bust now in the Museo del Duomo was originally designed to sit upon Nicolo di Bartolomeo da Foggia's pulpit, and so its identity remains uncertain. The plaster cast was made by an Italian firm based in Milan.

Plaster casts were especially sought after during the 19th century, when reproductions of great works of sculpture and architecture were thought crucial for the training of artists. A separating substance was applied to the surface of the work to be reproduced, and a plaster mould made from that. The mould would then be used to make any number of additional plaster copies. These were often sold to artists, and later in the century to art colleges for study purposes.